jalaineknottphotodiary-blog

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

December 2018

Canon AE-1

I really love the color and settings (if only my developer sent the photos in order so I could refer to my notes) but I hate the way I framed this.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

December 2018

Canon AE-1

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“A happy place”  November 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

This is our office, taken on a lazy sunday.  This house has seen a lot of good moments and tender memories (and about 3 existential crises/week.)  Besides the bathroom, the office is the only room in the house - everything else is open concept, including the loft where we sleep.  The door is off balance so it never stays open, which means that whenever I enter I am hit by a blast of warm air, which I love.  It is also east facing, and on the rare occasion that I am up early enough for it, I have seen some amazing sunrises.

THIS is the type of photo I want to shoot for forever.  I love warm, natural light, I love heavy contrast with shadows.  I love light and shadow creating patterns, like on the left.  I love the light filtering through the sheer curtains, which have a chain link pattern on them.  This to me is the definition of a happy, peaceful, soothing and relaxing safe-space.

That being said... the pine tree in the window is rather distracting...

I think my settings were at 30

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Denis 2″ November 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

Not sure why I both love and hate this.  I guess I imagined that the camera would capture the endless expanse of the floor as I saw it from above.  It does show the size of city hall though - the place is huge.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Denis” November 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

Here’s Denis being annoyed with my art direction.  The second one is from when I put the setting too low, but I like the lo-fi quality of it.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“City Hall 2″ November 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

Wish I could have had a ladder or extendable legs to get the shot I wanted but I guess I’ll have to settle.

This would be better during the day to get the detail of the plants.  This could use some editing to bump up the brightness

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“City Hall 1″ November 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

These shapes were pretty fun visually but not so easily captured in a frame.  As City Hall’s ceiling is one big ol’ skylight, and it was around 4pm when I took this photo, I’m glad it turned out because it was kinda dark and lit only with hall lights and stuff.

Note to self: don’t go any lower than setting 30 in sundown light because it will get fucky.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“97″ November 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

I really like how the window paint stands out against the darkness of the glass.  This might be better taken in lower light, though.

At this point Denis and I were getting hungry and turned our attention from photos to all the amazing (but sadly cash only) BBQ and bakeries in the area.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Still life?”  November 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

I love the colors of this photo.  The warmth of the meat and the blood stains and the coolness of the skin and the ice.  I also loved the grocery store lighting, I think it added a really good cast to the skin and the eyes.

This was my first proper adventure with Denis to take photos.  Sometimes the cameras just came along but this time there was the intention, so it was special.  I chose China Town because of the drabness and run-downness of that area of the city and there is something beautiful about it (funnily enough I didn’t take any pictures of that stuff...)  It was a really good day.  Sometimes its easy to take loved ones for granted but I will always remember that day being a great day for the sunny sky and getting to spend time with him away from our worries.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Cross my heart hope to die” October 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

A whatever photo but I like the crispness of the chainlink and cross against the backdrop.  I would like to recreate this photo again with different subject matter.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Old School” October 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

This little schoolhouse is just off the highway and although they say it’s a schoolhouse I’m inclined to believe it’s actually an abandoned church.  There are no blackboards or cabinetry that suggest that people studied there, and the sitting area is small and the design lends itself to pews more than desks.  Additionally, it has a small stage at the front and an upstairs area where you can sit as well.  It has the exact layout of a church in Dapp, AB.  The biggest clue is the creepy 4 person graveyard adjacent to it.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Equus 1″ October 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

While we we driving to the lake and nearly through the ranch, we noticed a suspended skeleton in the poplar grove, in plain sight of the road.  You can tell by the way it is suspended that the partial horse skeleton was placed there after it died but I’m not sure if it was used as bait or to be intentionally creepy since a lot of families with kids drive down that road to get to the ranch camps.  There has also been an increase in wolf activity in the area after the northern forest fires pushed them down but bait is usually an unsuccessful hunting tactic against wolves.  Or maybe it was a homemade “no trespassing” sign, and a clearly unsuccessful one at that seeing as how I walked onto the property to take the picture lol.

I like the light and texture but I’m not a huge fan of the color palette

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Mini 4″ October 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film

Love this photo but I needed to do better with the settings to make the foreground brighter.  The textures in this (specifically the water and the cotton candy clouds) look really beautiful.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Mini 3″ October 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film.

I think this photo would have been more visually interesting had I caught it more from the left and maybe slightly lower.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Mini 2″ October 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film.

I really love this great shot of Mini trying to uncover a scent in the sand but I hate that I wasn’t paying attention to the lines in the background.  The way she is curled over the log looking intently at something we can’t see reminds me of 18th and 19th century paintings of fox hunts and the like.  But I am really distracted by the shoreline in the background...

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Mini 1″ October 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 on Kodak 400 film.

We happened to have a rental truck so we made a trip out to the farm to see our horses and go on a little adventure.  Mini was out without Cookie so we took her for a ride in the truck when we went to Makewin Lake (Teen Time), the fish ladder and the abandoned schoolhouse.  Here she is at the lake, pausing from digging around in the sand long enough for me to take a picture of her looking back at the truck where Denis was getting in.  This day she was unusually bold - she normally clams up when I pull the camera out.

I like that her left eye is partially obscured by shadow.

[jalaineknottphotodiary-blog]

“Calgcona” September 2018

Shot on a Canon AE-1 and Kodak 400 film

This is an accidental double exposure and collaboration.  The Calgary skyline was shot by me and the interior of our apartment was shot by my partner.

Although I think this “happy accident” turned out beautifully, I still wish I would have gotten the original shot of Calgary.  The colors of the sky/reflections were beautiful that evening and they were even more apparent and beautiful when we printed this photo for a friend.  Always take two pictures, I guess.